Updates

May 1, 2023 Though equities have proven resilient, more of the long-expected effects of the Federal Reserve’s (the Fed’s) rapid interest rate-raising policy arrived in April. “After nearly 500 basis points of tightening, cracks in the labor market and economy are starting to show,” said Raymond James Chief Investment Officer Larry Adam. “This combination of…

ESTATE & GIVING   A compelling plan to make a genuine impact on the world has a variety of components. A growing number of families are thinking “big picture” when it comes to both their financial and philanthropic planning. Through community support projects and initiatives, philanthropic endeavors have the power to promote well-being and make…

April 3, 2023 Events through March would again test a market that has continued to demonstrate resilience. While volatile conditions remain, and despite equities’ February retreat carrying into mid-March, the major indices ended the first quarter of 2023 up. If one were to look solely at the headlines, this may have come as a surprise.…

March 1, 2023 In other contexts, a string of positive economic data, including reports on jobs and retail sales, would provide a tailwind for equities. In these inflationary times, however, the specter of the Federal Reserve’s (the Fed) commitment to cooling the economy via higher interest rates has made any good news suspect. The major…

February 1, 2023 The wave of negativity that engulfed the markets last year was met with a ray of optimism in January as inflation decelerated, interest rates fell, China reopened, and earnings came in better than feared. The result: global equity markets rebounded strongly to start the year, highlighted by the S&P 500 having its second-best…

January 4, 2023 December did not bring the good tidings investors wished for – and typically see in the final month of the year – as most major asset classes struggled at the end of an especially volatile year for the capital markets. December is historically the third-strongest month for the S&P 500 Index, but…

The year-end fiscal 2023 government funding bill contained legislation that makes the most significant changes to the U.S. retirement savings system in decades. The SECURE Act 2.0 legislation builds on retirement savings changes passed in 2019 and contains new provisions that further raise the required minimum distribution (RMD) age, shift to automatic plan enrollment and…

December 1, 2022 November gave investors reason to be thankful, including a bucket of good-enough economic news that contributed to a second consecutive month of gains. Better-than-expected inflationary data and signals from the Federal Reserve (the Fed) that its interest rate hikes may soon slow – even as they continue – likely played a role.…

November 1, 2022 The nature of the market can at times lead us toward strange metaphors to explain its movements, but to spare you the one about a cart pulled by two competing horses, let’s describe October’s result directly: Despite the Federal Reserve’s higher-for-longer interest rate strategy and persistently high inflation, strong corporate earnings helped…